Sexual & reproductive health

Gloriah has raised £600,000 in an oversubscribed funding round to expand its UK retail presence and prepare for growth in the US. The Scotland-based female health company focuses on supporting women through hormonal changes and intimate health concerns. Founded in 2021 by Jessica Rose Watson and Isla Wynne Thomas, Gloriah was created in response to [...]

Researchers in Australia have identified two contributors to recurrent bacterial vaginosis (BV) infections, a common sexual health condition that affects about a quarter of women around the world. Recurrent BV may result from the condition persisting after antibiotics or from reinfection by a sexual partner, researchers found. BV, occurs when the balance of naturally occurring [...]

The Law Society of Scotland has launched a fertility law accreditation for solicitors working in fertility law and family creation. Developed following a 2023 law reform report on surrogacy and rising demand for fertility and family creation services, the accreditation requires solicitors to demonstrate a high level of expertise and experience.   The [...]

Pharmacies supplied almost 305,000 free morning-after pill doses in the first five months of England’s expanded contraception service. The emergency contraception was provided between October 2025 and March 2026 without women needing to book an appointment with a GP or sexual health clinic, new NHS figures show. The service launched in October 2025 [...]

Women with endometriosis or painful periods were four to five times more likely to receive an STI diagnosis, a large Japanese study found. Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows outside the womb. Although not strictly a menstrual disorder, it can cause pain, irregular periods and infertility. The [...]

The HPV vaccine has cut the risk of dying from cervical cancer before age 30 to almost zero among those vaccinated at 12 or 13, research suggests. The first study of its kind found that deaths have fallen sharply since school-age girls began being offered the jab in 2008, with around 200 lives saved in [...]

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an AI tool in beta to help policymakers, experts and healthcare professionals access sexual and reproductive health information faster. Called ChatHRP, the tool was created by WHO’s Human Reproduction Programme and draws only on verified research and guidance collected by HRP and WHO. It uses natural language processing [...]

Cervical cancer elimination in the EU is becoming achievable as HPV vaccination coverage rises, a new report says. As Europe marks European Immunisation Week 2026, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said progress in human papillomavirus vaccination is continuing across the EU and European Economic Area. All EU and European Economic Area countries [...]

Article produced in association with Spital Clinic Cervical screening saves thousands of lives from cervical cancer in the UK every year. The programme has changed significantly in recent years, and understanding what it now involves — and what your results actually mean — is probably the most useful preparation you can do before your appointment. [...]

Article produced in association with Spital Clinic Each year in England, approximately three million women take part in cervical screening. While the majority receive a reassuring result, a proportion are referred for further investigation following an abnormal finding or a positive human papillomavirus (HPV) test. For these women, the next step is a colposcopy. Despite [...]